Chapter 367.2
Sang-je’s command echoed through the air, reaching every knight stationed outside the capital. Those who had ingested relics felt the urgency in his message, a brief yet intense communication that transcended distance. The knights likened it to a “divine revelation,” an ethereal directive that spurred them into immediate action.
Even the judges, scattered throughout the Delano Kingdom, were not immune to Sang-je’s call. They diligently abandoned their posts, converging on the capital. However, among them, a judge voiced a hint of frustration.
“At this pace, who knows when we’ll arrive with that guy.”
Perched atop a horse, the judge not only held the reins but also a rope, the other end tied to a man struggling to keep up. The horse’s swift pace, exceeding that of a human’s walk, forced the bound man into an almost continuous sprint, each breath a struggle.
The middle-aged man wore a sly expression, his face and hands stained with dried blood. Intricate patterns adorned his arms, visible beneath the sleeves that extended up to his forearms.
“Should we just end him and be done with it?” questioned one judge.
His companion responded, “His Holiness expressly ordered the capture of wanderers alive. He values a single wanderer more than a multitude of heretics.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
While the simple solution would have been to ride the wanderer to exhaustion, neither judge entertained such a brutal approach. Instead, they continued to drag the wanderer along at a pace that ensured he wouldn’t collapse from sheer fatigue.